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Launch (Dragon Ball)
"Doesn't he know it's an offer he can't refuse!?" -"Global Training" Launch is a fictional character in the manga Dragon Ball and the anime Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. Some fans call her blond self Kushami, a name used in old fan summaries of the then untranslated manga in order to distinguish the two. Biography Launch is Master Roshi's ticklish and attractive house maid, retrieved by the young Goku and Krillin in order to receive martial-arts training from him (his requirement was to "bring him a pretty girl"). She has dissociative identity disorder; whenever she sneezes, she switches between an attractive, sweet innocent girl with blue hair, and a very attractive blond woman who commits crimes for fun and is quick to respond with gunfire when angered (pulling a machine-gun out from nowhere when needed). Neither of Launch’s personalities remembers what the other says or does, and it is never said if the evil side knows of the innocent self (though during her debut, before Blonde Launch sneezes she pleads "Oh, no, not now!" as her hair continues to tickle her nose); however, the innocent Launch is aware of her evil side (although she doesn't really seem very concerned over her presence). Goku, Master Roshi and Krillin are all deeply afraid of her evil side, all of them running behind a boulder several meters away in fear, after being victims of her first assault, when it seemed like she would sneeze, and carefully observing her during dinner, ready to run away at the first sign of a sneeze. Series Overview Dragon Ball , Bulma, and Launch]]As Goku and Krillin fly off on Flying Nimbus to find a "pretty girl" for Master Roshi, a blond-haired woman on a motorbike is being chased by the police; she had robbed a train and was fleeing with the money when they caught up. As she attempts to escape, a strand of her hair tickles her nose, causing her to sneeze and revert to her blue-haired form, quickly losing control of the bike and crashing. The officers close in on the confused girl (who has no memory of her other self's actions), and her terrified screams draw the attention of Goku and Krillin. Not realizing why Launch is being pursued, Goku quickly beats up the "attackers" and he and Krillin bring the grateful girl to the Kame House, where she agrees to work for Master Roshi as his maid. In episode 16 of Dragonball when Krillin goes inside the Kame House Launch quickly sneezes and thinks Krillin was being a pervert. Then Launch almost killed him. Launch is happy to carry out her work for Master Roshi, never realizing that the old pervert is constantly trying to grab, poke, rub or catch a glimpse of her breasts, panties, or bra. However, many of his schemes are foiled—if not by his own mistakes, then when Launch's nose gets tickled and she sneezes, causing her to change into her violent half. Launch has a very sensitive nose, that, when irritated by even the smallest things, can result in a sneeze. Her sneezes are often provoked by things such as flowers, pepper, dust, and other common allergens. Her transformations come in handy during the 22nd and 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, when she would clear the crowd and allow her friends to get up in front. Additionally, in the later episodes of the series, she seems to be more in control of her blonde form, whereas her earlier transformations in the series turn her into a berserk maniac with no control. In fact later on in the story she begins to control her blonde form completely and this is confirmed when she cries after Krillin's death. Dragon Ball Z Her first appearance in Dragon Ball Z is during the Vegeta Saga, as her blonde self. Apparently she has stayed with Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu since the end of Dragon Ball. After Tien Shinhan is killed, she is seen in a bar drowning her sorrows. She doesn't appear again for the majority of the series. She reappears as her innocent self in the last episodes of Dragon Ball Z to give her energy to Goku for his Ultimate Spirit Bomb. She seems to have aged somewhat. Although this did not occur in the manga by Akira Toriyama, it was one of the many filler stories written in the Goku Densetsu by Toriyama and his staff. Launch's final appearance in the manga was actually during a filler scene in the Frieza Saga, the only instance where she appeared after the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament. Such filler scenes were inserts to the chapters found in Weekly Shonen Jump 1991 #3 and #4. Since they were only gag-manga done at the request of the magazine, resulting in each author from those two issues contributing holiday-themed gag-manga inserts, they weren't considered canon and were never included in the Tankobon (compilation volume). Other appearances In "Goku's Traffic Safety", Goku is heading to West City to attend Bulma's birthday party, and on the way he ends up learning the rules for getting through traffic. The movie was for children to watch so it would teach them how to get across a pedestrian crossing. One character included in this special used a design rather similar to Launch, however it has never been stated whether or not this is her. This is probably just Toei re-using a design. In the Dragon Ball movie Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle, Launch (in her evil, blond state) arrives to steal the Sleeping Princess -- which is really a giant jewel. Everyone is captured and encased in a wall of rock. It is the night of a full moon, and the moonlight is used to power the jewel. The moonlight also turns Goku into a Great Ape, and everyone escapes. Goku and Krillin return to Kame House with Launch, and Master Roshi takes them both on as students. In the Dragon Ball movie Mystical Adventure, Bulma, Oolong, Launch and Puar are looking for the Dragon Balls, so Bulma can wish for a boyfriend. During the film, Launch demonstrates more reserve and compassion in her violent state than normally expected, especially considering that she is one of the lead characters here and is only seen in her innocent state during an early scene in the film. Launch doesn't appear at all in Dragon Ball GT, except at the end of the series, when the dramatic flashback of the three Dragon Ball series is shown as Goku is leaving the World Martial Arts Tournament 100 years later. Launch has recently appeared in Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!! as a background character. She appears to once again live at Kame House with Master Roshi, Android 18, Krillin and Marron. In Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3, Launch continues to appear until the end of the series, always looking for Tien. In addition to that she also sells capsules in the Skill Shop, switching between her good and evil side randomly. She is also present in the two more recent video games Dragon Ball: Origins and Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans. Weapons and vehicles Launch's arsenal is carried via Dynocapsules; this was revealed in the King Piccolo Saga, opening a capsule to use a pistol and a machine pistol to clear away a crowd so that Bulma and the others could get a better seat for the World Martial Arts Tournament. It is highly conceivable then, that Launch could have an entire arsenal of weaponry at her disposal, all within the size-reducing capsules. Here now is what was revealed to be in her possession. * Launch's Bazooka - Launch uses a bazooka to stop a train that she is about to rob. She is later seen attempting to shoot King Piccolo with it but she changes back to her nice form before she can, later on she accidentally activates it nearly blowing up herself, Yamcha, and Bulma. * Launch's Machine Gun - Master Roshi gives Launch some lingerie to change into, and after she changes she sneezes. She quickly pulls out machine gun and fills the boys full of bullets for making her wear such a thing. This gun is also used during the saloon scene at the beginning of the episode 15, appearing much sooner in the anime than it does in the manga, later in the series in order to protect Yamcha from Tambourine she tries to kill him with this but the bullets have no effect. According to Launch, it "is a hyperbolic, automatic weapon," and "it fires 100 rounds in less than 10 seconds." * Launch's Shotgun - This is a short barreled pump-action shotgun that Launch tries to use against the police that are chasing her. Fortunately she doesn't get the chance to use it, as she sneezes just before she is about to shoot. * One-Wheeled Bike - Launch is seen driving the "S-Cargo" one-wheeled bike as she's being chased by the police after robbing a bank. The name itself is a pun, with "escargot" being the French word for "snail". The bike's design actually resembles a snail. Voice Actors Japanese Dub:Mami Koyama Funimation dub:Meredith McCoy; Christine Marten (Mean, DB Movie 2 Only); Monika Antonelli (Nice, DB Movie 2 Only) Trivia * When Launch sneezes, she almost takes the appearance of a Super Saiyan, with the blond hair, green eyes, and increased aggression. * After defeating a Red Ribbon army soldier in an episode of Dragon Ball, she gives a soldier "the middle finger". * Launch has attempted to fight superhuman villains twice in Dragon Ball: once during the Tien Shinhan Saga when she attempted to stop Chiaotzu from using his telekinesis on Goku by using a mallet, but Master Shen intervenes with his pinky and easily tosses her aside; and again when she attempted to protect Yamcha from King Piccolo's son Tambourine, futilely shooting him many times with a machine gun. * Interestingly, Launch is in the ending sequence for Dragon Ball Kai when she was only in filler scenes in Dragon Ball Z that were cut out of Kai. * While shown in her blond state in the promotional poster of Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!, she only appears in her innocent state during all the film. * Launch looks very similar to Ayla from Chrono Trigger. Both characters were created by Akira Toriyama. Category:Dragon Ball characters Category:Fictional criminals Category:Fictional professional thieves Category:Fictional gunslingers Category:Fictional alcoholics Category:Fictional maids Category:Fictional chefs Category:Fictional characters with multiple personalities Category:1986 comics characters debuts